1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a multiple embedded nuclear polyhedrosis virus isolated from a celery lopper, Syngrapha falcifera, with broad host spectrum activity in Lepidoptera.
2. Abbreviations
Abbreviations or definitions used in the disclosure are as follows: AcMEV, Autographa california Multiple Embedded; HPV-85-CLMEV, Celery Looper Multiple Embedded; DOC, Sodium Deoxychlolate; HaMEV, Heliothis armigera Multiple Embedded; IB, Inclusion Bodies; MEIB, Multiple Embedded Inclusion Bodies; MENPV, Multiple Embedded Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus; MEV, Multiple Embedded; NPV, Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus; OS, Original Suspension; PIB, Polyhedra Inclusion Body(ies); REN, Restriction Endonuclease; SDW, Sterile Distilled Water; SEV, Single Embedded; SoMEV, Spodoptera ornithogalli Multiple Embedded; TEM, Transmission Electron Microscopy.
3. Summary of the Prior Art
A number of laboratories have investigated the control of insects by microbial agents, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa. It is expected that microbial insecticides will be toxic to specific pests and not to other life forms in the environment. Microbial insecticides are thought to be rapidly inactivated when exposed to the environment and to degrade quickly to nontoxic molecules [see A. Senuta, Agrichemical Age, p. 21 (January 1987)].
Although there are potential advantages to viral insecticides, the use of these materials has been inhibited by high costs of developing and marketing, the need for precise timing of application, and great specificity to a limited number of insect species.
Four virus insecticides have been registered for use in the United States [Senuta, supra; Betz, Registration of Baculoviruses as Pesticides. In "The Biology of Baculoviruses, Vol. II. Practical Application for Insect Control," R. R. Granados and B. A. Federici, eds., CRC Press Inc., Boca Raton, FL, 320 pp. (1986)]. These include polyhedrosis Heliothis commercially known as "Viron H" and most recently as "ELCAR" for cotton bollworm and tobacco budworm, tussock moth larvae, gypsy moth larvae, and pine sawfly larvae.
Polyhedrosis viruses have been isolated from Heliothis zea [Ignoffo, J. Invertebr. Pathol. 7: 315-319 (1965)], Autographa californica [Vail et al., J. Invertebr. Pathol. 17: 383-388 (1971)], and Heliothis armigera [Williams and Payne, Ann. Appl. Biol. 104: 405-412 (1984)]. [See Chauthani and Rehnborg, J. Invertebr. Pathol. 17: 234-237 (1971), and Shapiro, In vivo Production of Baculoviruses, In "The Biology of Baculoviruses, Vol. II. Practical Application for Insect Control," R. R. Granados and B. A. Federici, eds., CRC Press Inc., Boca Raton, FL (1986)]. There is no known reported isolation of virus from the celery looper, Syngrapha falcifera.
The virus of the present invention was compared with other closely known related viruses described above by restriction endonuclease analysis (REN) and with AcMEV, which is known to have a wide host range. The REN patterns clearly show that the virus of the present invention is distinct from the known viruses.